When did the modern era of psychopharmacology begin and what events were most associated with its beginning?

What will be an ideal response?

It began in the 1950's with the discovery that chlorpromazine reduced or eliminated many of the core symptoms of schizophrenia in a much more specific fashion than previous drugs and with (apparently) lower toxicity. With this discovery, there was a dramatic change in the treatment of mental illness. This led to many pharmaceutical companies attempting to formulate other similar drugs, one of which (imipramine) was found to be very effective in the treatment of depression. It also provided evidence that certain forms of mental illness had a biochemical basis, rather than being due to purely environmental conditions (e.g., "bad" parenting).